Rain Rain - this could be a good sign

It's been the primary focus of recent updates here on the blog and for good reason. We need rain. There were some nice showers and storms last Saturday that covered a decent amount of Kansas, but near as I can tell from most of you, it wasn't quite enough. 

Here's what's going on for Thursday. If you look to the north, you can see a nice drop in temperatures as close as northern Nebraska by mid afternoon. This front will set off the majority of our storms heading into the evening hours. I don't think these storms will be able to survive the entire night, so after midnight, expect what's out there to dry up. Summer storms can be notorious for producing more wind than hail or rain, so keep that in mind in the coming days.

Friday:

Storms will once again be possible over many different areas. The front will still be in the area, so showers and storms will start late morning and continue into the afternoon. Much of what shows up on radar should continue to shift south throughout the day. There will be pockets of heavy rain, but threats of damaging winds and large hail look minimal.

This weekend:

Saturday:

Rain chance looks a bit better than the Sunday setup at this time. Least likely areas of the state to get rain will be in the far east. Central and western Kansas could deal with slow moving storms that gradually track south, and another .50" is a reasonable expectation. The clouds and rain should keep our highs in the 80s. Sunday (shown below) will still have some rain around too, but it's likely a morning chance and then drier weather takes over for the afternoon.

 

Potential amounts:

It's looking like most of the state will get something. Probably not enough to wipe out the growing drought conditions, but maybe enough to keep it in check. Much of the area will be close to an inch by the end of the weekend, but as is usually the case, some will get more and others less. 

 

There may be more active weather later next week!

A system tracking through Wyoming may help to set off a new round of rain and thunderstorms beginning Wednesday night (western Kansas) and then spreading east for Thursday. Timing could be adjusted as we get closer, but it may be more welcome moisture soon. AND... it will be followed by a BIG drop in temperatures as we go later in August. Just look at the period Aug. 19-26. How does 10-15 degrees below normal sound? Let's see how this sets up, but it is very likely with the pattern that we are heading into.